EDITORIAL: Iffy highway plan could drag down worthy water proposal

By Enterprise editorial staff

Published 4:05 am, Friday, July 12, 2013

No one disputes the need for more highway funding in Texas, not even the members of the Legislature who failed to take care of this fundamental duty in the regular session that ended in May. But the fix they have come up with in the special session is far from perfect.

It would take about $1 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund, even though transportation officials say the state's roads really need about $4 billion in funding. It also sets an unwelcome precedent of using the Rainy Day fund for routine expenses that should be financed some other way.

This highway funding plan, if OKd by the House after Senate approval, must be passed by voters as a constitutional amendment in November. That's also true of a visionary proposal by state Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, that would borrow $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund to jump-start water projects across Texas.

Ritter's plan does not use the reserve fund for routine operational expenses. The $2 billion would be repaid by various local taxing entities after their water projects get going. And without Ritter's boost, water planning in Texas would continue to lag even though our state's growing demand for water outpaces current supplies.

Yet the danger is that voters could reject both proposals in November, mostly because they don't want to tap into the reserve fund for ongoing road expenses.

Of course lawmakers could have avoided this problem by paying for our highway needs in the regular session without raiding a fund designed for emergencies.

If voters are in a cantankerous mood this November and reject both amendments, you can put the blame on the House and Senate - whether they accept it or not.